European Militaries Don't Need US? Oh Really??

[Asher]

So basically, there will be milk riots and Americans will get really mad at Canada? And the US will magically stop producing enough oil and importing enough from Mexico and the middle east for its military to function so it can invade Canada?

You can't just decide to "import more oil" from the middle east. Transportation infrastructure needs to exist for that. The US has been putting all of its efforts into reducing its dependence on Middle Eastern oil and increasing its dependence on Canadian oil.

[giblets]

That's what the pipelines and ports are being constructed for, yes.

China is very heavily investing in Alberta right now and are rapidly ramping that up as well. Chinese companies are buying stakes in major projects to guarantee supply.

Alberta still sells the majority of its oil to the US, right? So you're arguing that the US would struggle to replace ~30% of its oil imports but Alberta would replace a majority of its oil exports with ease?

[Asher]

In case people have forgotten:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves

1 Saudi Arabia (more information) 264,600,000,000 19.00%
2 Canada (more information) 175,200,000,000 12.58%
3 Iran (more information) 137,600,000,000 9.88%
....
13 China 20,350,000,000 1.46%
14 United States (more information) 19,120,000,000 1.37%

Canada's # is actually 10% of the total reserves. It's the estimate from 2007 based on 2007-level technology and $69 oil. Each year it gets cheaper to extract, which means more is economically viable. And the price of oil is well above $69 now. That number should be significantly higher today, and will continue to get higher.

[Asher]

Alberta still sells the majority of its oil to the US, right? So you're arguing that the US would struggle to replace ~30% of its oil imports but Alberta would replace a majority of its oil exports with ease?

Alberta is already starting the trend or replacing the US with the far east. The ball has started rolling already.

[MikeH]

More importantly the US needs to import 15m barrels a day to meet current needs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States#Oil_consumption

[giblets]

The US still produces more oil than Canada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...oil_production

[giblets]

Alberta is already starting the trend or replacing the US with the far east. The ball has started rolling already.

That doesn't mean the infrastructure exists for it to sell all of its oil to the far east.

[Asher]

The US still produces more oil than Canada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...oil_production

US production is declining. Canadian production is rapidly increasing.

Each year new massive oilsands projects come online while the US continues to retire existing conventional wells with nothing to replace them. The US has maxed out its production, Canada isn't even close to reaching its potential.

WikiLeaks memos from the last few weeks show the US government has come to the exact same conclusion.

[Asher]

That doesn't mean the infrastructure exists for it to sell all of its oil to the far east.

Not yet, but it's a much better situation to be in than the US would be. If we can't feasibly export all of our oil to the far east, all it means is the worldwide price of oil skyrockets due to diminished supply and we can ship less and make the same amount of money

[Kuciwalker]

Not yet, but it's a much better situation to be in than the US would be. If we can't feasibly export all of our oil to the far east, all it means is the worldwide price of oil skyrockets due to diminished supply and we can ship less and make the same amount of money

economics fail

[Kuciwalker]

Seriously, you aren't really that dumb are you?

[ColdWizard]

If I wasn't so lazy I'd start a troll about how desperately the US needs Canada for:

1) Oil
2) Natural gas
3) Electricity
4) Uranium
5) Brains



Cutting off the supply of 3 of those would cripple vast swaths of your country in short order. Feel free to continue bragging about how many bombs you have -- but you don't have what matters most.

That would be like cutting off your face to spite your head. Where will 73% of your exports go? Where will 63% of your imports come from? Plus your hockey league would be crippled!

[Asher]

That would be like cutting off your face to spite your head. Where will 73% of your exports go? Where will 63% of your imports come from? Plus your hockey league would be crippled!

The BEST part is hockey would be repatriated. We resent the Americans having teams.

[Docfeelgood]

http://h2oildoc.com/home/

I saw doc

Alberta sits over one of the largest recoverable oil patches in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia. It covers 149, 000 square kilometers, an area larger than Florida, and holds at least 175 billion barrels of recoverable crude bitumen. Canada has become the largest supplier of oil to the U.S., with over a million barrels per day coming from the oil sands. Currently 40% of all oil produced in Canada is derived from the oil sands.

According to this doc the cost of pollution to the environment must be weighed for oil extraction. Try to see this doc if you have the chance.

[Asher]

economics fail

Demand would fall, but the fact is oil is a required commodity and could not be replaced in any reasonable amount of time on the scale you're talking about. You can't just shrug and go without. Premiums will be paid.

Look into the history of oil boom/bust cycles and how OPEC even works. Hell, look at the profitability of big oil in general. You price the **** high, demand falls and you continue to make a killing.